At the beginning of the new year, the original French musicals "Rock of Mozart" and "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" started selling tickets one after another. A total of 40 Shanghai performances on the two channels were sold out quickly, making it hard to get a ticket. The 2024 performance season of Shanghai Cultural Plaza kicked off with such eye-catching market popularity.
On the afternoon of March 19, the "Beyond Experience - 2024 Shanghai Cultural Plaza Annual Performance Season" press conference was held in the stage area behind the main theater of Shanghai Cultural Plaza.
"Beyond experience - 2024 Shanghai Cultural Plaza Annual Performance Season" press conference poster
"This year is a big year for us to introduce European classic musicals. After a year of preparations last year, many big projects will be officially launched this year Landing". After the press conference, Fei Yuanhong, deputy general manager of Shanghai Cultural Plaza, said: "It has been 13 years since Shanghai Cultural Plaza was rebuilt and opened. It has been committed to introducing and promoting the premiere of European non-English classic musicals in China, especially in France and Germany. After many years of Austrian musicals, it has broadened the diverse aesthetics of musicals in Shanghai. In addition to two French musicals, two more German and Austrian dramas will be on stage this year, which is expected to set off a wave of viewing of German and Austrian musicals.
French Tickets for musicals are hard to come by, and the German-Austrian musical returns this year.
It is reported that the two sold-out French musicals have come to Shanghai several times.
"Mozart on Rock"
"Mozart on Rock" is the Shanghai Cultural Plaza's 2017 end-of-year show It was introduced to China for the first time and performed 24 times in a row, with all the venues sold out. The first 8 performances were sold out half a year in advance, leading another wave of French musicals in the Chinese market.
"Notre Dame de Paris"
French version of "Paris" "Notre Dame" has become a must-see classic musical for Shanghai audiences since it was performed as the first year-end drama at Shanghai Cultural Plaza. From 2019 to 2020, it came to Shanghai twice, and the venue was full and the event was unprecedented. It has become a treasure in the hearts of countless people. Good memories.
At the same time, the original German classic musicals "Elisabeth" and "Rebecca" that theater fans have been eagerly awaiting will also be staged in the form of musical version concerts this year.
"Elizabeth"
Both works were co-written by playwright Michael Kunze and composer Sylvester Levy. As the most popular and influential German-language musical in the world, "Elizabeth" tells the story of Austria. The legendary life of Empress Elisabeth (Princess Sissi) is full of drama and emotion. The play debuted on the stage of Shanghai Cultural Square in 2014, setting off a trend of German musicals in China.
"Butterfly Dream"
"Butterfly" "The Dream" is adapted from Daphne du Maurier's novel of the same name. It is another long-running German musical classic after "Elizabeth". The musical version of the concert performed in China this time is composed of the original version The producer of the musical, the Austrian Vienna Union Theater vereinigte bühnen wien, and the Danish Lion Entertainment Company jointly created the production, which has gorgeous stage design and costumes. This time, it is planned to move the Schönbrunn Palace version of "Elizabeth" to the Shanghai Culture Plaza. Orchestral music specially invited from overseas Under the performance of the team, nearly 30 actors and dancers jointly performed all the golden songs in the play.
Dance Drama "Romeo and Juliet"
In addition, after 6 years, the British choreographer Matthew... Byrne will bring the dance drama "Romeo and Juliet" and make a grand return to the Cultural Square. The play premiered in the UK in 2019 and won many important awards - the Laurence Olivier Award, the Tony Award, the National Dance Award, etc. After "Girls" came to Shanghai one after another, Chinese audiences met Matthew Bourne for the fifth time.
At the same time, the world-renowned English classic musical "Mamma Mia!" 》, it will visit China again with the original lineup after 17 years, and will appear on the stage of the Cultural Plaza in May. At the same time, the most classic play in British history, "No Man Survived", will also be used in China for the first time to interpret Agatha Christie's representative work in its original English version.
Domestic original productions gather again, and for the first time "specially invited incubation" Sino-foreign joint creation
domestic original productions are also an important part of Shanghai Cultural Plaza every year. Since 2017, Shanghai Cultural Plaza has launched 9 self-produced musicals and toured the country. This year, the Cultural Plaza's "Production and Performance Season" also included the production of Chinese versions of many "small but beautiful" musicals such as "The Count of Monte Cristo", "Fan Letters", "My Bucket List", "Perhaps a Happy Ending", etc., and will continue to do so. Departing from Shanghai, the national tour begins.
As a tradition every spring, Shanghai Cultural Plaza’s annual original Chinese musical performance season is now in full swing. This season’s performances include "The Classic of Mountains and Seas", "Southern Wall Project", "I Want You", "Stars" and "Rouge Button" Five local masterpieces, three of which are premiering in Shanghai, kick off the spring of this year's musical theater stage.
The musicals "The Orphan of Zhao" and "Hamlet" originally produced by Seo Jun Theater Arts Center will return at the end of the year. The Chinese version of the musical "Flowers for Algernon" will also return this year.
continues the "Chinese Original Musical Incubation Program" launched for the first time in 2019. This year, Cultural Plaza has launched the creation of "Special Incubation". Specially teaming up with British artists James Beany and Gina Georgio and the Xu Jun drama team to open a new track and create the first new original musical "Lady Macbeth". The play will premiere in Shanghai in May this year.
This is also the first time that Cultural Plaza has launched a Chinese-foreign joint creation format. It takes the path of incubating international creative talents and outstanding works, and creatively presents them with an international actor team and an all-English format. The play will also become the first new English original musical to be incubated and produced by a Chinese team and have its world premiere in Shanghai.
"Only Green"
In addition, in the domestic original masterpiece section, the dance poetry drama "Only Green", which has always been hard to find a ticket, will also be performed in two rounds for a total of 14 performances. On its premiere day in April, "Only Green" will celebrate its 500th commemorative performance on the stage of the Cultural Plaza. In terms of dance dramas, "Li Bai", "Confucius", "Du Fu", "Nine Years of Yonghe", "The Eternal Wave" and many other contemporary and vital works will be staged again with full romantic and poetic expression.
It is worth mentioning that in August this year, the 120th anniversary collection version of the stage play "The Cherry Orchard" directed by Rimas Tuminas, starring Venus, and performed by Mars Theater Company will have its world premiere at Shanghai Cultural Plaza . "The Cherry Orchard" was Chekhov's last play. It was directed and premiered in 1904 by Stanislavsky. Since then, it has been adapted into many versions, attracting countless theater lovers. This version has also become the last work of the drama master Tuminas, from which we can face and think about everything in life again.
